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Troilus And Cressida (opera)
''Troilus and Cressida'' is the first of the two operas by William Walton, and was premiered in 1954. The libretto was by Christopher Hassall, his own first opera libretto, based on Geoffrey Chaucer's poem ''Troilus and Criseyde''. Walton dedicated the score to his wife, Susana. Composition history The genesis of the opera dated back to the mid-1940s, after the success of Benjamin Britten's first great operatic success, ''Peter Grimes''. Walton intended to counter this work with an opera of his own, and Alice Wimborne, Walton's companion at the time, suggested the story of Troilus and Cressida as a subject. Wimborne had suggested Hassell as librettist, in spite of the fact that he had never written an opera libretto. During the course of composition, Walton and Hassell carried out an extensive correspondence. Walton edited passages by Hassell from the libretto that he deemed inappropriate, or in his own coined term, "Novelloismo". The opera took seven years to complete. Perfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of the Western classical music tradition. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as ''Singspiel'' and ''Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers employ two styles o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malcolm Sargent
Sir Harold Malcolm Watts Sargent (29 April 1895 – 3 October 1967) was an English conductor, organist and composer widely regarded as Britain's leading conductor of choral works. The musical ensembles with which he was associated included the Ballets Russes, the Huddersfield Choral Society, the Royal Choral Society, the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and the London Philharmonic, Hallé, Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and Royal Philharmonic orchestras. Sargent was held in high esteem by choirs and instrumental soloists, but because of his high standards and a statement that he made in a 1936 interview disputing musicians' rights to tenure, his relationship with orchestral players was often uneasy. Despite this, he was co-founder of the London Philharmonic, was the first conductor of the Liverpool Philharmonic as a full-time ensemble, and played an important part in saving the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from disbandment in the 1960s. As chief conductor of London's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marie Collier
Marie Elizabeth Collier (16 April 19278 December 1971) was an Australian operatic soprano. Marie Collier was born in Ballarat, Victoria, to Thomas Robinson Collier (1894–1962), a railway employee, and his wife Annie Marie (née Bechaz). She attended Camberwell High School from 1941 to 1943. Due to an injured wrist, she gave up the piano and began training as a singer. She first came to prominence in March 1952 singing the role of Santuzza in '' Cavalleria rusticana'' for the National Theatre Opera company in Melbourne. On 10 December 1952 she married Victor Benjamin Vorwerg, a civil engineer. Collier became more widely known in Australia during 1953–54 while performing Magda Sorel in Gian Carlo Menotti's '' The Consul'', for a total of seventy-five performances in Melbourne, Sydney and regional areas. Collier studied in Milan in 1955, where she was auditioned by Lord Harewood. Subsequently she was offered a contract as a regular member of the Covent Garden Opera Company. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural event in Australia. The festival is based chiefly in the city centre and its parklands, with some venues in the inner suburbs (such as the Odeon Theatre, Norwood) or occasionally further afield. The Adelaide Festival Centre and River Torrens usually form the nucleus of the event, and in the 21st century Elder Park has played host to opening ceremonies. It comprises many events, usually including opera, theatre, dance, classical and contemporary music, cabaret, literature, visual art and new media. The four-day world-music event, WOMADelaide, and the literary festival, Adelaide Writers' Week, form part of the Festival. The festival originally operated biennially, along with the (initially unofficial) Adelaide Fringe; the Fringe h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its Metropolitan City of Milan, metropolitan city has 3.26 million inhabitants. Its continuously built-up List of urban areas in the European Union, urban area (whose outer suburbs extend well beyond the boundaries of the administrative Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city and even stretch into the nearby country of Switzerland) is the fourth largest in the EU with 5.27 million inhabitants. According to national sources, the population within the wider Milan metropolitan area (also known as Greater Milan), is estimated between 8.2 million and 12.5 million making it by far the List of metropolitan areas of Italy, largest metropolitan area in Italy and List of metropolitan areas in Europe, one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa riconosciuta''. Most of Italy's greatest operatic artists, and many of the finest singers from around the world, have appeared at La Scala. The theatre is regarded as one of the leading opera and ballet theatres globally. It is home to the La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Scala Theatre Ballet, La Scala Theatre Orchestra, and the Filarmonica della Scala orchestra. The theatre also has an associate school, known as the La Scala Theatre Academy ( it, Accademia Teatro alla Scala, links=no), which offers professional training in music, dance, stagecraft, and stage management. Overview La Scala's season opens on 7 December, Saint Ambrose's Day, the feast day of Milan's patron saint. All performances must end be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, dubbed "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943. The company's stated purpose was to make opera accessible to a wide audience at a reasonable ticket price. It also sought to produce an innovative choice of repertory, and provide a home for American singers and composers. The company was originally housed at the New York City Center theater on West 55th Street in Manhattan. It later became part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts at the New York State Theater from 1966 to 2010. During this time it produced autumn and spring seasons of opera in repertory, and maintained extensive education and outreach programs, offering arts-in-education programs to 4,000 students in over 30 schools. In 2011, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frances Bible
Frances Lillian Bible (January 26, 1919 – January 29, 2001) was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had a thirty-year career at the New York City Opera between 1948 and 1978. She also made a number of opera appearances with other companies throughout the United States, but only made a limited number of appearances abroad. Martin Bernheimer wrote in ''Opera News'' that, "Frances Bible was cheated by destiny. She never quite achieved the international recognition she deserved. Bible had it all—a mellow, wide-ranging mezzo-soprano, an attractive stage presence, genuine theatrical flair, a probing mind and a technique that allowed her to sing bel-canto filigree one night, Verdian drama the next. She was one of the rare American singers who savor the English language. She understood the value of economy, never stooping to easy effects. Perhaps she was too versatile, too tasteful and — dare one say it? — too intelligent for her own good." Biography Bible was born and raised ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ernest McChesney
Ernest McChesney (July 22, 1912 – July 25, 1991) was an American tenor who had an active singing career in operas, musicals, and concerts during the late 1920s through the early 1960s. He was notably a principal tenor with the New York City Opera from 1954 to 1960. Biography McChesney began his career as a teenager appearing in the ensembles of the original Broadway productions of '' My Maryland'' (1927) and ''The New Moon'' (1928). This was followed by a small supporting role in '' Princess Charming'' in 1930. His first major break came the following year when he became one of the featured performers in the Ziegfeld Follies. McChesney made his professional opera debut in July 1933 with the Central City Opera as Danillo in Franz Lehár's ''The Merry Widow'' He performed periodically in concerts, operas, and operettas throughout the United States during the 1930s while receiving more formal training at Syracuse University. In 1934 and 1935 he sang roles with the Pittsburgh Civi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giorgio Tozzi
Giorgio Tozzi (January 8, 1923 – May 30, 2011) was an American operatic bass. He was a mainstay for many years with the Metropolitan Opera, and sang principal bass roles in nearly every major opera house worldwide. Career Tozzi was born George John Tozzi in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at DePaul University with Rosa Raisa, Giacomo Rimini and John Daggett Howell. He later studied singing in New York City with Beverley Peck Johnson. He made his professional debut in the Broadway production of Britten's ''The Rape of Lucretia'' in 1948 as Tarquinius. His signature roles included Figaro in Mozart's ''The Marriage of Figaro'', Philip II in Verdi's ''Don Carlos'', Hans Sachs in Wagner's ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'', and Méphistophélès in Gounod's ''Faust''. In 1957 he portrayed the title role in a nationally broadcast performance of Mussorgsky's ''Boris Godunov'' with the NBC Opera Theatre. In 1958 he created the role of The Doctor in Barber's '' Vanessa''. In July 195 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorothy Kirsten
Dorothy Kirsten (July 6, 1910, Montclair, New Jersey – November 18, 1992, Los Angeles, California) was an American operatic soprano. Biography Kirsten's mother was an organist and music teacher, her grandfather was a conductor, and her great-aunt, Catherine Hayes, was also an opera singer. She left high school at age 16 and worked for the Singer Corporation sewing machine company and for New Jersey Bell, studying voice in her spare time. Her teacher, Louis Darnay, eventually employed her as a secretary and maid.Obituary ''The New York Times'', November 19, 1992 By the late 1930s she had an ongoing professional career as a radio singer on , a member of the |
Richard Lewis (tenor)
Richard Lewis CBE (10 May 191413 November 1990) was an English tenor of Welsh parentage. Life Born Thomas Thomas in Manchester to Welsh parents, Lewis began his career as a boy soprano and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music (now merged into the Royal Northern College of Music) from 1939 to 1941, and later at the Royal Academy of Music. He made his operatic debut in 1939, and from 1947 onwards, sang at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera and at Covent Garden (London). He made his debut in the United States in 1955. Lewis made a number of recordings, including ''Messiah'' (Handel), ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Monteverdi), ''Idomeneo'' (Mozart), ''Liebeslieder Walzer'' and Neue Liebeslieder Walzer (Brahms), Coleridge-Taylor's ''The Song of Hiawatha'', Elgar's '' The Dream of Gerontius'', Benjamin Britten's Spring Symphony (with Leonard Bernstein), scenes from William Walton's ''Troilus and Cressida'', BBC Studio recording of ''The Mercy of Titus'' (''La Clemenza di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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